Grill grate lifting devices are generally known in the art. Barbeque grills are designed for cooking meat or other foods over hot charcoal or other heat sources. The food is placed on the grill grate, which supports the food over the heat source. Often times, especially with charcoal grills and especially when smoking the meat or food placed on the grill grate, additional charcoal needs to be added. In order to add the charcoal, the grill grate must be removed. Manipulating the hot grill grate without dropping the food off the grill grate can be difficult.
Various grill grate lifting devices have been proposed to remove a hot grill grate. Typically, these devices include a handle with a long shaft with a hook at the end of the shaft opposite the handle. The hook can be passed under the tines of the grill grate to securely hold the grate. The shaft acts as a lever arm to aid in lifting the grate from the grill. Because the hook engages the grate generally at a single location, the grill grate is unstable when being lifted from the grill. Further, if there is food on the grill grate, the user might balance the food and grate as it is being lifted from the grill grate. The problem is further exacerbated by the lever arm of the shaft, increasing the load experienced by the user at the same time making it difficult to control and balance.